Envisioning harm reduction in the Gunnison Valley

Compassionate and concerned individuals come together to improve community wellness

[  Kari Commerford / Director of Juvenile Services  ]

“When people are alive, they can recover – you can’t help someone if they’re dead!” said Lisa Raville, executive director of the Harm Reduction Action Center in Denver, at a recent community conference in Gunnison. 

Raville was invited by Grasp, a sub-group of the Gunnison County Community Health Coalition that is dedicated to prevention, treatment and recovery of substance misuse across the lifespan. Raville came to Gunnison to speak about the importance of implementing harm reduction techniques. There were 28 community members present, including local law enforcement, folks from Gunnison Hospital, Faculty and students from Western Colorado University, the Gunnison Country Food Pantry and other concerned parties, to listen to Raville and discuss future steps for community support.

Lisa Raville is a self-identified “Harm Reduction Freak” and notes that before implementing harm reduction techniques, like access to free sterile syringes and drug test kits, it is important to engage in individual and community conversations about this controversial and oftentimes misunderstood concept. Raville continually iterated that harm reduction isn’t about enabling or encouraging drug use, it’s about promoting individual and community safety. 

For example, law enforcement often faces issues of being pricked by contaminated needles when searching people who inject drugs. Being pricked could potentially expose officers to HIV and/or hepatitis C. So, harm reduction could come in the form of setting up a drug needle disposal facility that offers a location to dispose of the used syringes. An added benefit to offering this facility is to also provide folks a safe and judgment free place to seek education and resources to address their addiction.

Why is Raville’s advocacy for harm reduction important for Gunnison Valley? Because Gunnison and Crested Butte, like most of the U.S., is struggling to address the increasing number of people engaging in opioid and fentanyl usage. Since 2018, Colorado has seen a steady increase in opioid related overdoses and fentanyl usage. 

Past mentalities, like the “war on drugs,” towards people who use drugs have been callous and punitive, and in the end have done little to curb rising drug abuse and opioid overdoses. At the conference, one local law enforcement officer concluded that, “we cannot arrest our way out of addiction” and expressed hope that harm reduction will better support the most vulnerable in our community.

Cole Cooper, a graduate student at Western Colorado University in rural community health, noted “[Harm reduction is] an important first step to compassionately address the addiction and mental health struggles in the valley.” In conjunction, it was pointed out that there are some harm reduction programs and techniques in place, but greater awareness needs to be raised and more resources need to be utilized to effectively address Gunnison’s substance use issues.  

For instance, the meeting focused on ways to prevent overdose, which in most cases are preventable deaths. In relation, there were conversations around how to use Narcan, an opioid antagonist used to stop opioid overdose, as well as how it can be distributed and who should carry it. For many communities, taking the compassionate step to make Narcan readily available within the community is a key foundation to becoming more invested in being not only a harm reduction community, but also a community that is committed in the healing of their most sick and hurt. Other harm reduction strategies that Gunnison already implements include SafeRide and the Late Night Shuttle in order to reduce drinking and driving.

When asked why harm reduction is needed in the Gunnison and Crested Butte area, one concerned community member, who wishes to remain anonymous stated, “It’s about how to truly understand the lives of our community members.  Knowing how they are living and what they need by removing the stigma associated around harm reduction. Not just assuming what we assume they need.”  

The conversation surrounding harm reduction and wellness is ongoing.  Grasp is dedicated to the prevention, treatment and recovery of substance use disorder across the lifespan. Some of the goals and strategies of this effort include: 

– Provide behavioral health trainings to Gunnison Valley professionals

– Provide scholarships and trainings to increase behavioral health workforce

– Provide education to prescribers on alternatives to opioid medication and understanding addiction

– Increase Medical Assisted Treatment (MAT) Services

– Implement Harm Reduction strategies

– Support scholarships for 10 free therapy sessions for community members.

– Support for behavioral health specialists within the RE1J schools

– Increasing access to Naloxone and overdose awareness to minimize overdose deaths